I have been having a Wonder Years marathon. Its pretty awesome. Did you know netflix now has all the seasons on instant? Did you know that Winnie Cooper grew up to be some brilliant math person who tweets palindromes? Did you know that Travis from Clueless (Breckin Myer) pretty much plays the same exact character on the early episodes of The Wonder Years also? Its weird. I love that show.

Anyway, on the blog we have been posting a lot of Thanksgiving and party food recipes to gear up for December. Parties are fun. Its a bit stressful to figure out what to bring sometimes. I just happen to have some thoughts on what to bring to holiday parties. If you’re single, and going to a party you hope to meet a cute boy, maybe bring Bacon Jam. Most boys like bacon. I think. If you’re single and going to a party to meet a girl, maybe bring Chocolate Covered Potato Chips. All girls love potato chips. If she won’t eat them because she is watching her figure, you don’t want to date her anyway. Trust. If you’re going to an office holiday party, maybe bring our Potato Rings. They are good, and they are fried, which means everyone that has good taste in food will like them. If you’re going to a holiday party anywhere in California, bring these! They are perfect and light and yummy!
♥ Teri

Directions:
1. For the cakes: Place all ingredients, except for the oil, into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Pour oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium heat.
3. Form ¼ cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (this will have to be done in batches)
4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. Set aside.
5. For the aioli: Place all ingredients into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and serve alongside the warm quinoa cakes.

Remember when it was rumored that Paul grew up to be Marilyn Manson? Poor guy; a shortened acting career, only to be confused for a quasi-evil rock star. Wonder Years was my favorite show growing up! Thanks for the note about the streaming availability. I know what I’ll spend my rainy evenings doing throughout the winter. And I think some cheesy quinoa cakes might be the perfect snack to accompany me on my future Wonder Years marathon! Happy thanksgiving!

I told my husband it was on netflix instant and he almost cried. He’s been wanting the dvd boxed set for like 10 years now. I used to be totally in love with Breckin Myer. It was Clueless that sold me.

anything to do with quinoa makes my little tummy sing. love this! i wonder how it would work out if you were to add a little more veggie in the mix (ie sundried tomatoes, lime zest, maybe some shredded chard?)

These sound great! I haven’t seen Wonder Years in so long. Fred Savage is directing now. He’s done some episodes of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, another hilarious show. But not for kids! Thanks for the recipe.

Oh my, crunchy cheesy goodness! We just had these for dinner, and they are beyond yummy. I made a corn avocado salsa instead of the mayo, and sub’d in old cheddar cheese since that’s what I had. My meat-eater hubbie said it’s definitely a make again dinner! I agree! So good!

I just found your blog – love it. what made me love it the most? These lines: If you’re going to a holiday party anywhere in California, bring these! They are kinda like the healthy version of bad for you party food. Most likely the stupid skinny people will probably eat one. Just don’t tell them there is cheese in it.

I’m a recent LA transplant and not that I think people from CA are dumb, but I agree & love your sentiment. Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!

Hi Catherine! You shouldn’t have a problem with sticking or falling apart…just make sure you have a well greased pan (nonstick is the best) and if you’re still a bit worried, you can always add a small amount of breadcrumbs to help hold the mixture together. Good luck!

I made these tonight and they are Devine.-you know that saying, “if it tastes good it’s bad for you” ? Well these little quinoa cakes of gorgeousness are definitive proof that this is not true.I was doing these for the vegetarians in the house while the meat eater was cooking himself a couple of sausages. Upon tasting one he was seriously ready to toss the sausages out the window. Next time I might add a few little bits of chopped up olives, or sundried tomatoes or basil or chopped cilantro or I might not because they are awesome just how they are. I am from New Zealand where our ordinary old tasty cheddar cheese is delicious so I used that instead of fancy fontina.This recipe will definitely be a regular in this household.

Hi Leah! I’m so glad you like this recipe! Yes, one of the best things about it is that you can add whatever little bits and do swamp outs for whatever cheese according to preference. I love your idea of olives or sun-dried tomatoes…it would add a great tartness/brininess to the cakes. Thanks for reading :)

I just have to say that I am completely addicted to these quinoa cakes! I made them a couple of weeks ago to accompany some butternut squash bisque, and I have made them three times since then. I loved them with my soup, but my favorite is with an over-easy egg on top. The fontina cheese and lots of pepper really make this amazing. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

I just finished making these are they are the BOMB! I too had problems with the mixture falling apart, but I found if I just left the blob to cook, it solidified while cooking. I also tried a batch with double the egg and some more flour. It worked too but puffed up more due to the extra egg. I am serving them tomorrow, but am seriously tempted to eat the entire thing right now!

Thank you! This was awesome! My 2yo wasn’t a fan (but she’s 2 – she’s picky – haha), but my 9-month-old son couldn’t get enough and neither could my carnivorous husband! He was skeptical before tasting it but went back for seconds. :)

Even better: I had leftover quinoa in the fridge today so I chopped some plain chicken breast and shredded spinach, added a handful of Craisins and a few dollups of the aioli and – voila! – lunch salad! SO GOOD! This is going into my recipe file for SURE.

I made these with my 6 year old tonight and they were super easy. The batter did not stick and stayed in perfect cakes while frying. I didn’t have the green onion so I used a bit of shallot instead. They were seriously delicious. Thanks for this great dish to serve vegetarian friends!

I just made these for dinner and they are quite tasty! I put lime in my aioli because I didn’t have a lemon, but it was amazing. It was the first aioli I’ve ever made and I’m hooked! Thanks for a great recipe on both counts! Can’t wait to make them again.

I would try subbing either cornstarch or rice flour, but if people are having trouble with the cakes staying together it might just be a recipe that doesn’t work well with a gluten-free diet like ours. I was going to repin this recipe on Pinterest until I read the disparaging remarks about we native Californians and decided that I didn’t need to spread that kind of vilification on my page, but I might try to come up with my own recipe and post that. But try it GF, what have you to lose?!

Hey—Us Canadians take jokes all the time
about us, EH? As I type this, I’m sitting in my
igloo, sipping on a Tim Horton’s coffee & giving
my sled dogs a rest from the daily grind. Maybe
I’ll even let them try a quinoa cake later. ;)

I just made these. Did have the sticking problem. The last batch I dropped in the 1/4 cup blobs and them flattened them with the spatula. That helped a little. I may try some additional flour next time. Either way, they were extremely good, as was the sauce. Thanks!

These sound delish and I am going to make them tomorrow for dinner. I was curious if you happen to know the nutritional value of the cheesy quinoa cakes. I just wanted to know fat grams, fiber and protein. Maybe once I get the ingredients together, I can figure it out. They seem to be pretty healthy for the most part. Thank you in advance for your time.☺ Linda

Made these quinoa cakes this afternoon and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. Didn’t have fontina cheese so substituted asiago and added an extra egg as my mixture seemed a bit dry before I did. Know these would make a great appetizer or side dish and my 4 yr old ate 3 of them so kid tested too!

I like these quinoa cakes so well that when I went on retreat by myself I took along quinoa and purchased things at a local organic food store to make these–yum! they are wonderful and experimenting with additional ingredients is a great adventure! thank you for sharing this wonderful, creative & tasty recipe~

Great recipe! Although I’m wondering, could you there be an error somewhere? Mine only made 5 cakes. Thankfully, there were lots of sides, so no one went hungry. Quinoa quadruples in size, so I cooked 1/2 cup. I may have used a little less cheese than called for, but that shouldn’t have resulted in so few patties. It wasn’t 2 cups UNcooked quinoa was it? Cuz that woulda made a hecka lot of quinoa. Anyway. Great recipe though. Keep up the good work!

Hi Carie! I know that quinoa “quadruples” in size, which I’ve always found true except for when I’m cooking less than 1 cup of uncooked quinoa (I have no idea why). I usually have to make 3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa to get about 2 cups. Maybe that was it?! Otherwise, I got nothin’! Glad you liked the cakes themselves :)

Made these tonight. Hubby’s verdict: AWESOME. I was busy grading papers and forgot to roast the garlic ahead of time for the aioli, so I improvised with garlic powder and a little Tabasco. I think my husband would eat that on everything now.

We cooked ours in a cast iron skillet, and needed only 3-4 minutes total per cake to cook. I recommend 3/4 cup dry quinoa to yield 2 cups cooked; I cooked a full cup, and we ended up with around 3/4 cup leftover.

Served with chicken/apple/gouda sausages, and will add a green salad next time. Will be awesome breakfast leftovers, too.

Made these tonight and they were delicious, thank you for the recipe! Though like someone else, I don’t know how they could serve 10-12. I used 1 cup of dry quinoa and then measured out 2 cups after the quinoa was cooked so that wasn’t the problem. I made intentionally small patties (about 1.5″) and only got 12 and there was way more aioli than seemed proportional for the quinoa cakes. The rest of the ingredients were fine for me, I had no trouble getting them to form properly with just one egg and no sticking to the pan (used a cast iron skillet). Next time I will probably double the recipe for the cakes and that should be perfect.

SUCH a yummy recipe! TO make them passover-friendly I subbed matzoh meal for the flour, and my mixture seemed dry so I added an extra egg. I love the idea of serving them alongside soup, I will definitely be trying that soon as well!

Made these tonight and they turned out perfectly and they were delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe! They were a big hit. I will definitely be making these again. Quick question though.. I had a hard time shredding the fontina since it was so soft so I ended up putting it in the food processor but it got a bit clumpy. Do they sell shredded fontina? If not, what is the next best cheese you would suggest for this?

Oh my goodness. I have had this recipe printed for so long and finally had everything to make it and it’s my new favorite recipe!!!!! Seriously sooooo good. I did everything just as written except added a bit of grated carrot and zucchini with the excess water squeezed out, and added an extra egg. It was absolutely divine!!!!! And the sauce was perfect too although I might not have used enough cayenne, next time I will dig out my measuring spoons. But it was so good I will probably make these weekly!!

I just made those for a quick lunch and it was pretty yummy! I made 2 different mayo : a wasabi and soy sauce one, and a garlic, curry and sriracha one… Wasn’t bad but next time i will put more cheese in the bites and eat it with a marinara, because the mayo makes the cakes a little heavy imo!

shared the link on my blog … made these yesterday and they were delish. I added zucchini to your recipe and some minor modifications [ like the type of cheese cos we can’t get that here ]
thanks so much for sharing

THESE ARE AMAZING! After trying to get my carnivore boyfriend to eat quinoa for quite some time with no success, I made these last night and we were both amazed. So much so that it inspired me to immediately buy your cookbook! I love these! Sharing this recipe (and blog) with everyone I know, thanks! Nicole

Tried the cakes for supper. Made them in a “muffin top” tin, put inan extra egg and baked at 350 for about 20-25 mins. My husband thought they were great – he still doesn’t understand what quinoa is but likes it. Thanks for the recipe.

I had to report back to let you know that I made these the other night for my husband and I. I had to swap out the cheese for mozza and added a ton of fresh garlic to the patties and they turned out awesome. My husband came home from work and ate eight of them. Destroyed in a matter of minutes!

These are really good and healthy. However when I made them tonight, they broke when I flipped them over, so the outcome wasn’t so good-looking, but very tasty. Probably should put more flower in the mix? Next time I will also try with half the ingredients because they were too many for my little family of two.

Just made these and they are DELICIOUS. A little time-intensive (making the quinoa and roasted garlic in advance would be bet next time for me), but seriously one of the bet things I’ve ever eaten. Thank you!!!

This was my first cooking experience with Quinoa and boy oh boy was it good. My husband said, “I don’t know what that Quin stuff is but you can cook that recipe every night” So I guess it would be safe to say it was a hit in our house!

I made this tonight. I accidently added Greek yogurt (mayonnaise subsitute) to the cake, but it still turned out great and it was very filling. I think next time I’ll add shredded zuchinni to it to up the veggies. My whole family liked it, so I’ll definitely be making this again.

I made these tonight and they were delightful!! I subbed 0% plain Fage Greek yogurt instead of mayo, and the aioli was such a great, tart (and spicy!) pair with the cheesy quinoa cakes. I think next time I may try a sharper cheese, but my husband says this is a keeper! :-)

(Also, like other commenters, I didn’t really end up shaping the cakes at all; just used a 1/4 cup measurer as a “scoop” and plopped them right in the pan. Worked great!)

This is one of my all time favorite recipes! I add shredded zucchini and carrot and use oat flour and an extra egg to make it gluten free and hold them together, and it is fabulous! I even cook it in coconut oil sometimes. Thank you for this recipe, even my kids adore it!!!

These exceeded my expectations. Very versatile, too. Like a potato pancake only better. Used cheddar and green onion along with minced white onion because that’s all I had. They were fantastic! I highly recommend trying these. They were sticky so I used a scoop and flattened them in the pan. Made the sauce but were good without it as well. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making these again. Even my husband said, “bookmark that one!”

I made these and we all love them. They are a new favorite in our house. I like to make a double batch, and freeze the cooked patties. Then I can pop them in the oven with some fries for a super quick weeknight dinner. The crisp back up beautifully! Much better than processed frozen meals. Thank you for the recipe.

Whoaa! I’ve never had success at doing any type of bean or grain patty. But this was different. Wonderful! I used feta because I had some that needed to be eaten. Used some Italian spices. The patties came out crispy and delicious! I served with white beans and tomatoes. Thanks!

First quinoa recipe my family liked! I think the key was roasting the garlic in the oven for the aioli. It filled the house with an enticing aroma and set the stage. By the time we sat down to dinner they were ready to like what I put on the table.

I made these and they were fabulous. Served on a bed of romaine and topped each quinoa cake with a fried egg, then a dollop of the aoli. Also delicious as a veggie sandwich: put in pita bread with cucumber slices, tomato, purple onion and the aoli or any creamy salad dressing.

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